Talk:Western terrestrial garter snake

File:Coast Garter Snake.jpg to appear as POTD

Hello! This is a note to let the editors of this article know that File:Coast Garter Snake.jpg will be appearing as picture of the day on July 5, 2013. You can view and edit the POTD blurb at Template:POTD/2013-07-05. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page. Thanks! — Crisco 1492 (talk) 23:27, 19 June 2013 (UTC)

Picture of the day

The western terrestrial garter snake (Thamnophis elegans) is a species of colubrid snake found in southwestern Canada and the western United States. It is the only species of garter snake with a well-documented tendency to constrict prey.Photograph: Steve Jurvetson

addition to the article on defense mechanisms of this species

As a native of Washington State, I am aware of these snakes as having a very smelly defense mechanism of some kind. When handled, these snakes often eject a wet,foul smelling substance. It smells fecal in nature but I am not sure what it actually is. A brief mention of this is warranted as we have many of these snakes in the area. Mostly, they are dark green in color with yellow stripes or blackish grey with red stripes. I had been bit as a child, by a juvenile garter snake, but I did not suffer any type of myotoxin or tissue necrotizing that I can remember. The bite was startling and fast but the pain was minimal. 50.170.101.33 (talk) 02:19, 20 January 2015 (UTC)